Ray Ban wrote on Aug 22, 2012, 17:01:Let's not forget how difficult it is to secure funding for the kind of games we (hardcore, veterans, jaded seen-it-all) would like to play ...

That's a topic Warren Spector unintentionally hit on in the 45 minute Deus Ex Replay commentary/interview he did a few days ago.

He had to answer to no one for Deus Ex, he had entire creative control, and the funding to do it. He said his job then, besides telling Eidos to screw off because John Romero was taking the heat for the finances at Ion Storm, was: maintaining the core 'logical realworld decision making' that he wanted the game centered around, and keeping the programmers and artists from killing each other.

He even ignored the focus groups for the game. He ignores the focus groups for all his games, apparently, and doesn't read reviews (does see the metacritic score), but only observes how people play without aiding them in any way so as to refine the gameplay and levels. And can't remember how to play any of his games.

It's incredible we ever got Deus Ex the way it was. Ion Storm was a fluke, but Kickstarter has the essence of that fluke in that the developers don't have to answer to overbearing publishers with tight pursestrings.

Eidos wanted the stealth elements ripped out of Deus Ex entirely, was another example, since by Spector's own estimation only 20% of gamers were going to play it that way. He ignored them on that too, because he had that privilege. Started a pacifistic movement within Deus Ex that even got it down to a core value in the DE:HR development. A mechanic the publisher wanted tossed.

The people are only part of it. It really is all about the money.

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